I 've been musing about podcast ideas and possibly reviving Rolecasters . I'd want completely overhauled setup, objectives, direction, and content matter. So once all of those fall into place, I guess we'll see if the name "Rolecasters" still fits. My dedicated co host has moved on to other endeavors, but has pledged her support as long as she doesn't have to do anything. Honestly I've missed the weekly+ shows and all the great friends made along the journey. The rate at which we produced content back then would sink my currently running projects, so if there were a return it would be with a more leisurely cadence, especially since it would be now be a solo project on my part. While I continue to mull over the prospects, I thought it would be appropriate to share an almost decade long cherished podcast, Mysterious Universe . Their focus has always been on entertaining storytelling and, upon reflection, the majority of tales told are incredibly pulp. Alt

I came across the perfect analogy of my own pulp awakening in John C Wright's foreword to Jeffro Johnson's Appendix N: The Literary History of Dungeons & Dragons . "Imagine if you had lived in a house for decades, as had your father before you, and grandfather, and you thought you knew all its halls and chambers. Idly, some rainy day, or when the snow has covered all the roads, you take up a lantern and go to see what is stored in those old boxes in the cellar, or where that one small door you never opened before leads. You pry the door open, and it groans on rusted hinges, and beyond are caves of wonder, heaped with treasure. Here, like a column of fire, stands a strange genii and other spirits bound to serve your family. They are willing to carry you whirling through the air like an autumn leaf, in less time than it takes to gasp in awe, to far and fabled lands beyond the cerulean ocean, to elfish gardens of dangerous glamor, to jeweled mountains, alabaster cities

Children in school today will not be prepared for the jobs of the future. Our education system wasn’t much of a problem until now. The system addressed the 19th century industrial revolution needs for labour that could perform simple and repetitive tasks. But that era is long over. Our children must gear up for the ‘gig economy’. By the time today’s graduates are 38, they would have gone through 10 to maybe 14 jobs. Moreover, 15 years from now, 65% of graduates will be going into jobs that don’t yet exist. Given these trends, lessons taught in classrooms no longer seem relevant for our increasingly tumultuous world. Teachers are wrestling with how to break away from archaic pedagogies and curricula. Students are jumping off the education conveyor belt unequipped for an unforeseen future. Governments are eager to develop knowledge societies but are grappling to find concrete strategies to get there. A "gig economy" is not guaranteed, that's just the current catchph

Faulke Tavian is a enchanter, herbalist, scholar, and master of disguise. As the head of the Thief Gendarme, he pursues the esoteric by any means necessary. This is a preliminary sketch for the cover of Daemon Lost which will display the ensemble cast. Faulke studied the young men before him and decided to mimic their demeanor. If he was going to be turned away, he didn't want his adversaries hunting him down for his audacious inquisitiveness, but rather be dismissed as a local drunk. He used what little transformative magic of fashion he had on hand, removing his leather doublet to hang askance in the crook of one arm while loosening his collar strings. “Was your ugly mug and weak knees that soured her taste! Now bugger off!” grumbled one ruffian as he shoved the most drunk of the lot through the sheet of rain. He slipped in the mud splashing it over Faulke’s trousers. “He's still weak in the knees for her” another of the group crowed while the others cackled in la

Herein lies all the means you require to fight. Grab a weapon from the rack and prepare to hone your skills of battle. My services as Doctore are free and I expect no recompense. Your gladiatorial tools shall be a regular deck of cards. While the rules are simple, they easily lend to role-play. You can play as a dueling swordsman weighing your opponents every move as you count every card your opponent plays. Or you can play as a folk hero instinctively robbing your foes of victory while playing cards chaotically and relying on luck alone. You can play the wild ax swinging barbarian who throws down spade after spade at each opportunity. Or you can play the cautious defender baiting out your opponent until the perfect opening by beginning with diamonds and hearts until their spades run dry. Not only can you role-play a character but the rules of the game lend to a storytelling experience where a blow by blow tale unfolds without effort. So let's get straight to the rules now. Eac

Kyra Dakar comes from a clan of gypsies that once roamed Sibain before her father settled down to run a curio shop in Gavrenslocke. This is a preliminary sketch for the cover of Daemon Lost which will display the ensemble cast. The stranger then turned to draw the shop curtains and flip the Open sign to Closed while Kyra remained frozen staring out the now obscured store window. During her moment frozen there a lifetime seemed to pass. She saw her mother and father holding each other, their eyes eerily reflecting the flickering light of a bonfire, while she played foxes and hens with the other gypsy children. She could hear the caravan dogs baying to the wild wolves of the alpine woods, the laughing and shrieking of children in the dusk light, and the murmur of all the adults as they solemnly spoke around the bonfire. The smell of ashen debris mingled with the scent of fresh pine and spruce as the fire growled and blustered over their encampment like an angry titan. That mom